Chapter 26: Reencountering the Elves

Two days later.

Luo De used up all the crystal-stomach sacs from the lizard demons.

Good news: it worked; all resistances increased.

Bad news: it increased by barely anything.

If the venom resistance of Scorpion Woman Hera had risen by 20 points before, then twenty crystal-stomach sacs only raised it by 1.5 points.

The imagination was beautiful; reality was skeletal.

At least it was a universal resistance boost; otherwise, Luo De considered just licking Hera’s thighs directly.

The recent period of comfort had not eased his inner anxiety—it deepened it.

He always felt that the Igo Cult was about to return.

After finishing patrol that day.

Luo De returned to the Flawless Crystal Ground.

“Last time we were about five hundred meters in. Every five hundred meters forward, the demons grow stronger. Mr. Luo De, aren’t we being a bit reckless?”

Xiti hid behind, nervously glancing around.

He knew Luo De was strong, but he was only newly entered into the fifth tier—another five hundred meters ahead was the domain of fifth-tier peak demons!

And demons never fight one-on-one; they swarm.

“No problem. If things go wrong, I’ll retreat quickly.”

Luo De drew the [Sword of Devotion].

The newly acquired skill [Glow] wasn’t as useless as imagined—at least in the pitch-black mine tunnels, it was useful.

Xiti let out a “whoa.”

His eyes sparkled as he stared at the golden-glowing longsword.

Little fairies, like dragons, are born to love shiny treasures.

“Like the gleam of brilliant mithril!” Xiti exclaimed.

As they advanced, the group immediately encountered their first fifth-tier peak demon.

Still lizard-like, but its hind limbs had grown bulkier, sprouting granular fleshy tumors, and its head’s tentacle-mouth had thickened further.

Basically, it looked less and less like a lizard.

Luo De’s foundation was solid.

After five minutes of battle, he successfully killed it.

“See? Not that scary.”

He stepped on the flesh and pried up the stomach sac.

“Doesn’t it look a bit like the Igo?”

Tally used [Flash] to appear beside him, pinching her nose in disgust.

Luo De’s [Life Spirit] remained applied to the magic shortsword.

Unexpectedly, luck favored them—it had spawned [Flash], a god-tier escape skill, and Tally was still getting used to it.

To match [Flash]’s theme, she had transformed into a masked night elf assassin; her dark skin made her even less visible in the already pitch-black cavern.

“Really?”

Luo De raised an eyebrow.

No matter how mutated, this demon still fell within the range of vertebrates.

The Igo were slimy slugs full of mucus.

“Not the appearance.”

Tally shook her head: “It’s their spiritual essence and state—I can’t explain it.”

“About this, I once read a curious speculation in elven ancient texts: they claimed the Igo were a new race that emerged from the labyrinth, not native to the continent.”

Xiti joined the conversation; the young crystal-winged one was deeply interested in rumors and gossip: “Perhaps that’s why Miss Tally senses the same thing.”

The group continued forward.

Along the way, they saw many signs of battle; fragments of broken demon corpses littered every inch of the cavern walls.

“No wonder their language and behavior differ so drastically from other races on the continent—they’re demons that came out of the labyrinth.”

Luo De was half-skeptical.

There were plenty of isolated races among the continent’s many peoples.

This claim wasn’t circulating in today’s society; he leaned toward it being elfish slander.

After all, the elves were the first race to wage war against the Igo—and the first to be utterly crushed.

It had always been the elves’ shameful history.

“I have a question.”

Luo De encountered a severely wounded demon.

He unleashed [Aetheron’s Flash], slicing three times in an instant.

“Do all labyrinth mutation points work like this—weak near the entrance, resembling what we consider normal creatures, while deeper inside, they grow more twisted?”

Look.

The outermost demons, aside from their facial features, were identical to lizards.

The deeper ones grew increasingly distorted.

“It’s as if the labyrinth isn’t mutating the creatures—it’s our world that’s mutating the creatures inside into continent-dwellers.”

Xiti froze.

He recalled briefly—and indeed, every labyrinth mutation point he knew exhibited this trait.

“An interesting theory.”

As he spoke, Xiti wrote it down in his small notebook.

Over there, Tally slashed with an air blade, finishing off another demon that hadn’t quite died.

She smiled: “If this theory holds, how ugly must the Igo have been before they mutated into this form? By the way, little twig, did elves come in? Why’s the cleanup so sloppy?”

Xiti scratched his head, also curious.

“The last two elves came in half a day before us—they’re never like this.”

“Look.” Tally turned to Luo De. “Elves are this filthy, morally corrupt race—beautiful on the outside, but never get close. They’ll pretend to be moral pioneers, lure you to bed, then devour you completely.”

“They’re not succubi—why would they lure me to bed?”

“You don’t understand. Restraint leads to stronger rebound. There are plenty of perverted elves.” Tally said.

Xiti nodded: “True. On the list of races with the most frequent mental disorders, elves always rank first.”

“What kind of ridiculous ranking is that?”

“It’s from the Snow Hill Evening News in Stormwind City. Don’t you subscribe? Every resident of Shi Ying Town gets a copy.”

Before she finished speaking,

Sudden, frantic footsteps echoed from the corridor ahead.

Two figures dashed into view.

It was Falshard and Karist, the two elves.

They were disheveled; Karist’s face was deathly pale, with a black, grotesque wound on her arm.

The moment Falshard saw them, his expression darkened.

“Damn!”

Then he gritted his teeth and suddenly threw the unprepared Karist toward them.

He spun around, raised his staff, and rapidly gathered spiritual energy, forming a massive protective barrier.

“Human sir! Take Karist and retreat the way you came! I’ll hold the rear—don’t look back! Don’t let it fixate on you!”

“No! Falshard! It’s not yet your turn to protect me!”

Karist struggled to rise, but the poison surging through her body forced out a jet of black blood.

“What happened?!”

Xiti jumped in shock.

“Deep-layer demons! My fault—I was too reckless and accidentally woke two seventh-tier demons! Karist barely killed one, and her mana was exhausted—it’s coming! Run! Human sir, take Karist and go!”

“Human! If you dare touch me, I swear by my life—I’ll kill you!” Karist roared, her chin smeared with black blood, her face terrifyingly twisted.

Falshard’s body trembled; having little battle experience, he was nearly at his limit.

His internal mana circuits were dry; casting another high-tier defense spell drained him, pain spreading through every inch of his body.

The next moment.

(End of chapter)